1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a hanger assembly, and in particular, to a stowable sliding hanger assembly that may be installed on a partition via a sliding, pivoting rail assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are currently available many types of tie racks, belt racks, valet rods (garment bag holders) and other hanger racks for hanging articles of clothing thereon. Many such racks include sliding mechanisms to allow the rack to be slid from a retracted position to a more easily accessed extended position.
Such sliding racks include the retractable valet rods described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,337,905 and 5,538,146. Other rack assemblies are known that include sliding or otherwise moveable members that may cause hanging members to be actuated. Such assemblies are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,569,450, 5,425,463, and 6,679,392, the entire content of each being expressly incorporated herein by reference.
Hanging racks are known that are varied in design and function. However, a need continues to exist to provide for a hanger assembly that may be mounted to a wall, partition or other member, such that a hanger attachment may be engaged to a sliding rail assembly to allow a user to slidingly extend the hanger attachment from a retracted position to an extended and pivoted position. While hanger assemblies are known, those that are presently available fail to provide a sliding rail assembly that has a smooth sliding action and that pivots for easy access, while also having the ability to mount one or more of a variety of hanger attachments. Various embodiments of the present invention provide for such a hanger assembly, and also provide an assembly that is esthetically pleasing, and which is particularly useful when mounted to a vertical surface a closet wall, partition, door or other member.
The art referred to and/or described above is not intended to constitute an admission that any patent, publication or other information referred to herein is “prior art” with respect to this invention. In addition, this section should not be construed to mean that a search has been made or that no other pertinent information as defined in 37 C.F.R. §1.56(a) exists.
All U.S. patents and applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Without limiting the scope of the invention, a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention may be found in the Detailed Description of the Invention below.
A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification is provided for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R. §1.72.